Hello to all of you fond of singing!
FarawayGuy
Pro Posts: 38
Hi everybody!
I’ve taken my time to look around – I joined the KTVA a fortnight ago.
I can say that I love this community. Friendly, helpful and – what concerns teaching – professional. All these features are very valuable nowadays. Unfortunately I see around so much hate, attempts to humiliate others especially at numerous web sites, growing unprofessionalism and I feel pity for that. But, as some sage have said (sorry for being rude): the world has it’s ass but not only, and it has much more than that!
I am very glad that I’ve found this place.
Guess it’s high time to introduce myself. Sorry if it takes longer than you can bear but people are so openhearted here that I’ve taken my chance without any fear to look silly.
Being an engineer and later a property manager for more than 30 years I have always been looking for some creational components in life and music is one of them. Since school time I played guitar, my elder brother showed me a couple of chords, many years later I managed to play Santana’s Europa solo – not a big deal, but something for an amateur. Then, on getting first time married I managed somehow to play simple things by piano. My wife graduated from musical school, she had a piano and played well when she had musical sheets in front of her, but I showed her how to find chords for a song when you have no sheets. I played guitar for a couple of years with my friends in studio - then I had to quit.
The reason – I came to a point when a lot of time and efforts were needed to play better and I could not afford that. Job and family, making money for living and raising a son – these became the main goals for many many years. Yeah there are some results since that time – our company became the best and biggest in Moscow, my son is 22 now, graduated from college, working in the same field of property management and he himself has a son, a nice kid of four years old.
The eager for changes and creativity was growing all these years. Major changes I made some 5 years ago – divorsed, got married the second time and now have a daughter a bit elder than my grandson. Still have good relations with my first wife and support her. Honestly speaking, my family doubled since that time 
. So – quite enough of changes.
Creativity…
During those years I wrote some short stories and a couple years ago my friends and I decided to publish a book, a set of stories about Russia – about the country where we had been born the last millenium and about the country that had been totally destroyed since 1985. We succeeded in publishing. Those who know the Russian language 
can find it for example here http://www.kriso.ee/cgi-bin/shop/book7363105_o.html?id=VhKDFXm2
For a couple of years I worked on transcription of memoirs of a Russian professor, who emigrated from Russia after the Russian Revolution – in 1920. Some 1760 pages of handwriting and a breathtaking story of a great scientist who had to leave his country which he loved with all his heart. I am through with it now and recently turned the job over to the library in Slovenia that will publish the memoirs on their site. And it is a free of charge work – just because I am interested in this great person and those historical times.
I was lucky as a kid – my father was a journalist and I spent several years before the school in Malasia, Kuala-Lumpur. I remember watching Tome Jones on TV in 1968-69. My mom was crazy about him. As well as about Elvis, Pat Boon, Humperdink, Sinatra. Their songs were always played by parents at home. The Beatles were my favorite during school years. I remember us shouting Helter-Skelter like crazy. Later came Deep Purple, Dio, Queen, Nazareth, Pink Floyd and many others, you know them all well… Good old hard rock.
May be about 10 years ago a found myself at a karaoke party and tried to sing a song and everybody were happy about it so I started trying to sing from time to time at home, at karaoke bars. It brought me great pleasure. Some 10 months ago I decided to start taking vocal lessons, found a school and was very lucky with a teacher – he explained fundamentals about singing, about support and all so when I ran across Ken’s lessons I grasped at once that this was REAL. During last two weeks I’ve been watching the videos, reading the forum, doing the very first fundamental exercises, even first easy parts of them – in no hurry, step by step. There is some progress and understanding of some peculiarities coming.
My goal is to sing better, to take part in some local concerts for friends (we have done a couple with the teacher and a few other gals and guys – it was nice), may be, as @TheSpaghettiKid said in his intro – go and sing on downtown streets. I love to sing and want to go on.
Soon I’ll feel able to show what I am doing and will ask for estimation and advice. So far – thanks to everybody for giving me an opportunity to join your wonderful community, especially to those who managed to read this long story to the end. Good luck to all of you – those who are so fond of singing.
Here is an example of my amateur vocal creativity:
I would appreciate all of your comments on this intro and the cover.
Regards and sorry for mistakes in the language if any!
Comments
Faraway Guy,
Europa is one of my very favorite guitar instrumentals ever!
Thank you for sharing your story with us. It's very interesting.
Your voice sounds very good on your samples. You will benefit a lot from your KTVA studies and exercises. You convey a lot of emotion with your singing voice.
It's nice to get to know you.
Here's to you accomplishing all of your goals and aspirations. I hope we can help you get there!
Bob
Oh, and how could I miss this?
It`s my turn to tell you - welcome to KTVA, my friend ! Salute from Piter!
Very intresting story and good singing. And I found your book to Ozon and I'll buy it.
I am sure we`ll have magic jorney here. Good luck and happy singing to you!